Morning journal and courier., 1887-04-21
HOW TO SHOOT BIRDS.
You Can Become a Marksman If You
Have Patience.

From the New York Sum-
While the proprietor of Broadway gun
store was watching a party Of young men
who were practicing with pistols in a Sixth
avenue shooting gallery the other night and
discussing shooting in general with friend,
he was asked if he could tell how man with
but little knowledge of gun could become
an expert as wing shot in the field. He
said:
eff man knows the butt from the muzzle
he can be told how to become an expert shot.
This is a very good time of the year to be-
gin, especially on a rainy day when time
hangs heavy. Take the gun to your room,
and after making sure that it is unIoaded,
bring it to your shoulder and aim at the door
knob, and as the sight covers the mark press
the trigger slowly. It is astonishing to see
how nervous the new beginner is about
pressing the trigger. He does it with jerk
gun weighing eight pounds is about right to
practice with, and that is very good weight
for all sorts of birds except ducks, geese,
etc. When you find that you can readily get
the sight on the door knob, the keyhole, or
on some mark on the ether side of the street
which you can see through the window, try
following the crack of the door or the edge
of the door frame from bottom to top, pull
ing the trigger as the sight reaches the top.
This is simple practice, but if followed de.
iberately it strengthens the muscles used in
handling the gun, and also trains them to
obey the will promptly, but without nervous
haste. Some men will learn to handle the
gun calmly in this kind of exercise in q day
or two, but others require a month. When
I was learning kept my gun leaning against
the mantel. and picked it up and pointed
from one object to another as often as con-
venient.
ssThe next step is to learn to follow a NOV
ing object. Aim at the head of a passing
horse, keeping the sight as closely on an ear
as possible, or the head of the driver if the
horse be attached to vehicle, or aim at the
head of a pedestrian The sole object of
this is to strengthen the muscles so that they
will obey the will. Keep the eye SO low be-
hind the butt of the barrels that only the
top of the sight appears against the object
aimed at.
"When pleasant day comes take your
gun into the fields. A trap such as may be
had for from three and half to ten dollars,
for throwing glass balls, should be taken
along. A friend to help with the trap is
convenient, but not necessary. But no glass
balls will be needed the first day. A few
old tin cans will serve much better. Throw
these straight up with the trap, pointing the
still empty gun at the cans as they rise.
Press the trigger when the can has reached
its greatest altitude Do this over and over
Then press the triggers as the can is midway
on its trip up on its return. You will
find as you do this that you can usually tell
whether you have hit the not provi-
ded you had fired at it. Then set the trap
SO that it will throw the cans first to one
side and then to the other, and then straight
away from you"
"But why work with an empty guns"
"Because the report and the kick of the
discharge of loaded gun almost always
prove too much for the nerves of beginner.
The object of the first practice of a begin
ner should be to overcome all nervousness.
He must learn not to get ratified. Nerves
are the bane of marksmen. No rule can tell
how man must practice with an empty
gun, but he must certainly not load the gun
until he feels certain that when he presses
the trigger as he points at the flying mark he
would certainly hit it nineteen times out of
twenty if the gun were loaded. The distance
of the aspirant from the trap while the gun
if handled unloaded should be about twenty
yards. Then when ready for the next step
reduce the distance to fifteen yards, put the
biggest can on hand on the trap and load the
gun. The cartridges must contain two
drachms Of powder and three quarters of
ounce of No. s shot. No. is the correct all
around size of shot in upland shooting, and
that weight of charge will not make a kick
of any consequence when fred. But don't
shoot at the can the first time it is thrown
into the air after the gun is loaded. Follow
it as before. Being nearer to it you will find
it easier to follow, and with this feeling up
permost throw the can again. Follow it to
its highest altitude, where the shot is made
easiest, and pull the trigger.
eff the previous training has been thor
ough enough a miss is impossible. If you
do miss go back to the empty gun and fol-
low the can over and over again until prof.
cheney comes. Then try the loaded gun
L. /, III
away, after you have learned to hit it regu-
larly as it goes vertically up, and then try it
as it is thrown to one side. You will proba-
bly, miss the first shot at can thrown to one
side, but if you hold just a tri1e ahead of
the next one you will bring it down. Don't
be in hurry to leave the tin can for glass
balls. The cans cost nothing and can be
used over and over; shot holes make no diff
ference. You can easily tell when you make
hit.
'sFinally it will become such an easy mat
ter to hit the can, even at thirty-five yards
and with an increased charge, say three
| drachms of powder and an ounce of shot,
| that it will weary you. Then glass balls or
clay pigeons may be taken up. 1t is better
to point them with the empty gun for a
| while. They travel with much greater speed
| than tomato can, and if you follow them
| for half of days practice with an empty
gun it will not be time thrown away. There
| IS but one rule 1of tne length OF Time TO De
| devoted to each kind of practice, and that
| is to follow it until absolutely confident that
you can do the next thing as readily as what
| you are already doing.
'sFrom clay pigeons the next step is Of
course to genuine game. No matter how
thorough the previous training has been nc
| novice can hope to go into the field and
| bring game to bag on the first day. He
| ought not to try it. He will get the buck
| fever at the first whirr of auails wing, and
| by undue haste and nervousness upset all the
| good effects of his previous training. Take
| the empty gun and no cartridges whatever
and go into the fields. If cartridges are car
ried no man can resist the temptation to try
| them. There are two things to be done; one
| is to point the gun at every moving bird
| and beast that comes within a hundred
yards; the other is to estimate the distance
| of the game pointed at"
| Boston Repartee.